Not Exactly Normal to Begin With
by queenitsy
Summary: "I was home alone with the girl I had a crush on, who I could never date because she's the ex-girlfriend of my best friend, who I also have a crush on. Man, high school sucks." Will/Warren/Layla
1. Part I

_Not Exactly Normal to Begin With_  
**Pairing/Character:** Will/Warren/Layla (Warren POV)  
**Rating:** PG  
**Summary:** "I was home alone with the girl I had a crush on, who I could never date because she's the ex-girlfriend of my best friend, who I also have a crush on. Man, high school sucks."

* * *

**Part 1**

I tucked the fortune into my pocket, popped the cookie into my mouth, and ignored the looks my best friends were giving me. They'd both read their fortunes aloud; I didn't feel like sharing. I had done quite enough sharing over the last couple days, really.

Though the fortune did leave me feeling kind of happy, kind of relieved. It was surprisingly accurate, too.

"Are you going to spill or not, Warren?" Will asked.

"Nope," I answered. I glanced down at him and Layla, relishing being the tallest of the three of us. "But you're welcome to reach into my pocket if you want it that badly."

"Warren!" Layla squeaked, turning bright pink. I glanced at Will, who also looked a little flushed, and I laughed. Honestly, I never expected this. I never expected to be joking around with them about this, I never expected it to end the way it did. Which is why the fortune meant so much to me; sure, it was a coincidence, just a stupid fortune from a cookie at work, but still.

It was kind of nice to think that some mysterious power might want to reassure me that this was the right thing.

As we walked back towards Will's house, I found myself musing. The truth was, I'd had a crush on Layla pretty much since I met her, but the crush on Will was what threw me for a loop.

And I don't mean Layla's crush on Will: that was obvious. The way she looked at him, talked to him, and practically begged him for attention, spelled it out to anyone who wasn't blind and deaf. Unfortunately for her, Will was totally oblivious and hooked up with Gwen, who turned out to be a super villain anyway. The point is, Layla cooked up this scheme to make Will jealous, and it involved the two of us pretending to date each other.

I never told Layla that even though I acted like a jerk as soon as Will was out of earshot, I kind of liked her. She was smart, and cute, and stood up for herself and what she believed in. You'd think more superheroes would be like that, but it's a pretty rare thing. So I never told Layla, but I had this twinge of regret when she and Will, of course, got together.

The thing with Will, I didn't realize until after they'd broken up.

What basically happened was this: after saving the school, Will's parents started bringing him on missions. Will became the youngest successful superhero ever, and it did go to his head, just a bit. He was never a bad guy, really; just not that thoughtful. And so it became Layla's job to snap him back to reality and remind him that in school, he was just another freshman with midterms coming up fast.

Of course Will resented that. And of course Layla resented it, too. They began to fight, and then the fights got worse, and in the end it was kind of a relief when they finally broke up, the fall of their sophomore—my junior—year.

Well, it was a relief for them. It wasn't such a relief for me, because I was caught in the middle. After all, Will was my best friend, and Layla had become a close friend as well—and a close friend I had a crush on, for that matter. And a terrible part of me was glad they broke up just because it meant she was single and thus I might finally get to ask her out for real… Except I couldn't, because it's just not cool to ask out your best friend's ex-girlfriend. Especially not when he's clearly still half in love with her and not sure what went wrong.

So there I was. I had to listen to Will complain about how Layla had always been too bossy and too clingy; and then I'd hang out with Layla and listen to how Will was so full of himself and deluded. And I gave up trying to defend them to each other—they didn't want to hear it. So in the end, all I could do was _not_take a side. Even though they both wanted me to.

But spending time with them separately was also kind of nice. Even though I swore to myself I would never act on it, I _liked_ being alone with Layla. And she dropped by the Paper Lantern a few nights a week to pick up take out, but (I found out when I asked a couple of the other waiters) she only did it on nights she knew I'd be at work. We'd spend a few minutes talking—well, okay, flirting—and it became the highlight of my day. I finally got to know her as something _other_than Will's girlfriend, and she turned out to be just as cool as I'd thought.

Even though I was afraid she was only flirting with me to make Will jealous. Because she still spent a lot of time at school watching him when she thought he wasn't looking, and she was still as obvious as ever. He'd hurt her, but she loved him. She just didn't want to admit it.

But if she'd admitted it, they would have been back together in a second. Because every time Will thought _she_ wouldn't notice, he was staring at her, too. He adored her, to the point where he'd _still_knock around anyone who badmouthed a sidekick. He was just too stubborn to admit that he wanted her back, too.

Of course, when Will and I hung out one-on-one, there wasn't that fear that it was only to make someone jealous. Because at that point, it hadn't yet occurred to me that Will might be attracted to a guy. And I certainly didn't think of Will that way.

Yet.

Will and I hung out a lot, though. Mostly on weekends. We'd get together to do our homework (well, mostly he did homework and I copied him, when his parents weren't around to notice). We played video games and talked about hot girls at school and punched each other's shoulders and did generally guy-like things. It was all perfectly normal, and pretty awesome. Will always was and always will be a good guy.

Then, at the beginning of October, it happened.

The Halloween Dance wouldn't be for three and a half weeks, but the overeager student events committee was going to crazy on it, and so all anyone at school talked about was who was going with whom.

Then Layla told us she was going with a senior sidekick, and we were both stunned. I mean… Of course I hadn't been planning to ask her or anything. I kind of half wanted to, but as always, my loyalty to Will wouldn't let me. But if she wasn't going with me and she wasn't going with Will, I guess I kind of expected her to not go with anyone at all.

Will did, too.

She walked off, new boyfriend on her arm, and Will and I sat on the front lawn and didn't say anything for awhile. We just sat side-by-side, and when the school's floating platform passed through a cloud, I pulled up a little fire to dry us off.

We were leaned together, huddled over it, when the chanting started. Of course we both recognized Lash's and Speed's voices; they were such loudmouths that _everyone _knew what they sounded like. But this I had never expected.

"Will and Warren, sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G. First comes love—"

I stood up quickly and turned around, lighting up my arms without thinking, as I yelled, _"Shut up!"_

Will was right there to back me up.

They shut up and went back inside, and I suddenly found that I didn't want to just sit there with Will, both of us so depressed over a girl that we looked totally gay to everyone else.

Which was when the thought of being gay with Will first struck me.

Layla didn't help any, either. She told me she thought it was funny, it wasn't insulting because there was nothing wrong with being gay, and Will and I _did _spend a lot of time together. Which I countered with the cold hard fact: I wasn't gay, and I didn't think of Will like that.

Except that I kind of did.

Not a lot. Not at first, anyway. I had always chalked up the fact that I liked watching him work out in gym class to how good of an athlete he was. Watching him was awesome, because he was so graceful but still so strong—a perfect cross between his parents, kind of. But then I realized that sometimes when I watched him, I started to feel a little bit warm on my skin, like I do before I burst into flame.

But it didn't occur to me to think too much about it. I was used to the feeling, and so I didn't realize that it wasn't just me invoking my powers. It was also me _blushing._Because sometimes, watching Will made me blush.

Then in the locker room one day, I kind of turned around to talk to him when he was still changing. Not the superhero superchange, from street clothes to uniform, but changing like a regular kid, from his gym clothes back to his normal clothes. And so when I turned around, Will wasn't wearing a shirt.  
I stuttered a little bit, taken aback. I mean, obviously Will was a pretty attractive guy, but I'd never thought of him like that before. But for some reason, the thought that people—even Layla—thought our friendship was a little gay made me react a little more when I saw his abs and his pecs and his shoulders…

He asked if I was okay. I said of course I was, and made myself go on like nothing had happened. But that was the first time I realized what quickly became a terrifying fact: I had a crush on Will Stronghold. My best friend.

I spent the night obsessing over what I'd realized, even though I tried not to think about it. But trying not to think of Will's smile and Will's body and the way he understood me and laughed at my jokes and wasn't afraid of me… well, that kind of stuff is really hard to just ignore. And once I started thinking about it, it was like I couldn't stop.

I was so freaked out I faked being sick so I didn't have to go to school—and believe me, faking sickness is pretty hard when your mother is a super-powered healer like mine. I can fake having a fever pretty well (being as I can create fire with my body, it's not too hard to turn the internal heat up enough to show up on a thermometer) but other than that I have to just moan and act pathetic, because she's going to realize there's nothing wrong. But if I can make her feel bad enough for me, sometimes she lets me get away with it.

I lucked out that morning, and Mom decided to let it go. Mostly because halfway through scolding me, she got called away to go cure an important diplomat of some kind of incurable poison, and track down the poisoners. She did say we'd talk about it later, but if I really felt so rotten I could stay home. Thank god.

So I moped around the house all day and wondered if Will missed me, or if Layla missed me. I called in sick to work and played some video games and watched a stupid movie, but I still couldn't figure out what the hell was I was going to do the next day. I mean, can you blame me? Here I am, thinking I'm a perfectly normal guy with a perfectly normal best friend (super powers aside), and all of a sudden nothing is normal anymore. How would I explain that? "Hey, Will, not to weird you out or anything, but I think you're really hot and I spent all last night fantasizing about you." Yeah, I was sure he'd be flattered.

Layla, however, had gone to the Paper Lantern for Chinese takeout that night, and when she realized I wasn't there either, she stopped by to check on me. (She'd seen my Mom on the news and realized I was home alone. Because Layla is really thoughtful. Honestly, I could have killed Will for letting her get away, if I hadn't been so obsessed with him.)

She took one look at me and asked what was wrong.

"I didn't feel good," I answered flatly, and she rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, right. You haven't missed a day of school in the year I've known you," she answered.

"Then I was due."

"You're crabby," she said. "Did you have dinner?"

"Yes, _Mother."_But I let her inside anyway, and then realized I was home alone with the girl I had a crush on, who I could never date because she's the ex-girlfriend of my best friend, who I also have a crush on. Man, high school sucks.

Layla shrugged and sat down on a stool in the kitchen. "I brought you food," she said. "Chinese. Obviously."

"Not hungry," I snapped, not wanting to give her the wrong idea.

"Fine," she snapped back. "I was just trying to be nice. You and Will haven't really been too nice to _me_lately, you know."

"Well, you two broke up!"

"So? We wanted to still be friends. But I guess it's not that easy." She sighed a little, and tossed a thick red braid back over her shoulder. I swallowed, noticing (not for the first time) how her hair and eyes and complexion were just about perfect, and she was probably the most beautiful girl I had ever seen, in a really subtle, girl-next-door kind of way. "Can I sit down?" she asked.

I very nearly told her no, which might have been smarter. I mean, I've never been big on talking about feelings (I'm more of a punch things—or burn things—kind of guy) and I didn't want this to somehow turn into something that would screw things up with me and Will. Especially because I was so worried about things with Will right then anyway.

But Layla knew Will better than anyone else alive, so I kind of grumbled and nodded. She looked a little relieved and swept into the living room, looked around, saw my Mom's potted plant, and sighed. "Has anyone watered that poor thing in three weeks?"

"I dunno," I answered honestly.

"Poor thing," she murmured, and got up to work her plant voodoo, or whatever. Then she scolded me until I actually watered it, which I did mostly to shut her up. Then we were just kind of sitting there. Awkwardly.

I wondered what Will would have done. But thinking of Will made me uncomfortable, which didn't help any.

"So…" she finally said. "Look, Warren, I just wanted to let you know that if there's anything I can do to help you out… I mean, I _am_hero support. It's kind of my job." She smiled at me. "So if you've got a problem, you can tell me."

"What makes you think I've got a _problem?"_I demanded.

She shrugged. "Call it intuition."

"I'd rather call it annoying."

"So you _do _have a problem."

"No, I don't!" I yelled, lying angrily. Well, sort of lying. I mean, having a crush on Will wasn't _exactly_a problem. It was Will's reaction that was going to be a problem. And my mom's reaction. And Layla's. And everyone at school's. And…

That was when it set in that me having a crush on a boy was a huge problem.

"Warren?" Layla asked quietly, when I didn't say anything for what was probably a really long time.

"I don't want to talk about it," I said.

She shrugged. "I might be able to help, you know."

"Yeah, right."

"Well, I might be able to make you feel better, anyway."

"Doubt it."

"What is this, some guy thing?" she asked, rolling her eyes. "Will's been doing this to me too, and it really pisses me off. Just because I'm a girl and a sidekick doesn't mean I'm _useless,_you know!"

"I know, just shut up," I snapped. And it was true, I knew Layla wasn't useless. She was a good friend. My closest friend, other than Will, actually. And she was very high-minded; the way she refused to use her powers unnecessarily (saving my mother's plants was probably a necessity) and tried to show people how powerful sidekicks could be and all that stuff.

If anyone was going to understand, it would be her.

Or, I thought, maybe when she heard I had a crush on her ex-boyfriend, she'd freak out and show me just how powerful she was. By feeding me to a giant Venus flytrap or something.

But she looked at me, eyes full of concern and worry, so I kind of spat it out.

"I think I have a crush on Will," I said.

She stared at me.

"So just shut up and if you dare tell _anyone,_I'll—"

"Of course I won't tell anyone," she interrupted. "But you should. Tell Will, I mean."

"Hm, let me think. _No._"

She shrugged. "It's not that weird, anyway," she said. "I mean, look who you're talking to. I had a crush on Will for almost ten years!"

"But you're a girl," I pointed out.

"So? There's something about Will. He's…" She trailed off. "He's really easy to like. I kind of hate him for it, since it makes it hard to get mad at him when…"

"Yeah, I get it," I said, not wanting to listen to her usual _Woe is me, I lost my boyfriend!_problems.

"Anyway," she said sharply, making me wonder if maybe my blowing her off had been a little too harsh, "my point is, there's something about Will. And this isn't the dark ages, Warren; people aren't going to care. I mean, don't you think it's about time a superhero came out of the closet?"

"I am not in the closet!"

She gave me a look which I could tell translated to _Poor, denial-filled, confused Warren._Which was probably what made me annoyed enough to do it.

That and my desperate, _desperate _need to assert my heterosexuality. You know, prove it to her.

So a leaned in and kissed her. And it wasn't just a peck: I really did it, lips to lips, and put my arms around her, and kissed her like I meant it. Because I did. Like I said, I'd had a crush on Layla almost since I met her.

Layla actually kissed me back. Kind of hesitantly, experimentally. She'd done more kissing than I had, after all, and in the back of my mind I began to wonder if she was comparing me to Will. Was he a better kisser? Did we taste different? What was kissing Will like?

_What was kissing Will like?_

I pulled away, realizing that as much as I'd liked kissing Layla—and don't get me wrong, I really, _really _liked kissing Layla—it didn't change the fact that I had a real, serious, potentially extremely problematic, crush on Will. But it did kind of make Layla forget about that for a minute.

She stared at me for a long minute, and I felt myself begin to blush. Do you believe that? Me, Warren Peace, after spending my entire life building up a reputation so that no one would ever screw with me, _blushing _because of some girl.

"Warren…" she mumbled finally.

"Yeah," I said. "This is the part where you remind me that my best friend is your ex-boyfriend, so I shouldn't have done that."

"I… I… The food is getting cold, I'll go microwave—"

I picked up her folded carton of Chinese food, lit up my arm momentarily, and set it back down steaming, the box slightly scorched.

She stared at me. "Did you… _mean _that?"

"Mean what?"

"You just kissed me. I kind of have a boyfriend, and you—"

"Well, don't tell him about it, then," I snapped. "Or if you do, tell him it was me, and if he's got a problem with me kissing you, I'll kick his ass." Which I was pretty sure I could do. Sure, her boyfriend was a senior, but he was also a sidekick. But Layla was still looking quiet and stricken, and I wasn't used to seeing her like that, and found that I couldn't stop talking. "And anyway, it wasn't your idea, you didn't do anything. So whatever, he'll get over it. If he likes you. If he doesn't get over it, then—"

"But Warren, _I _liked it," she mumbled.

Oh.

What?

"You did?" I finally said, after staring at her for what was probably an awkwardly long time.

She shrugged. "I thought I was obvious. I mean, you guessed about Will right away, so, I figured you knew…"

I blinked. "I knew what? I mean… I _don't _know. What?"

She stared at me again, and I shifted uncomfortably under her gaze, but the next thing I knew, she'd reached out to take my hand. That was all she did, grabbed my hand. I swallowed.

"Oh," I said. "But… Will…"

Her face fell a little. "Yeah. Will."

"And you have a boyfriend."

She shrugged. "We're really just friends. I kind of only asked him to the dance to make you two… you know, jealous. It worked last year."

That hadn't occurred to me, and I doubt it had occurred to Will, either. Hey, no one ever said we were smart.

"Oh," I said finally. "But… you love Will. I mean, I know you do."

"I do," she agreed. "But just because I love Will doesn't mean I don't feel anything for anyone else."

At that point, my mind was reeling. It had never even crossed my mind that Layla might have feelings for _me_. I mean, I'm definitely not the most emotional guy in the world, and I hadn't had a whole lot of close friends, and certainly never a lot of crushes, or anyone who'd had a crush on _me_, before. So sure, I was clueless, and the thought that maybe she _did _like me was amazing. But my feelings for Will were also muddled up inside it, and so were hers, because even though we liked each other, we both cared about Will too much to hurt him.

Which led to another thought. "So you know he still loves you?"

"What?"

"Well, you're all worried about him."

"Yeah, but… I mean, he's my friend and…" She squeezed my hand, and it tingled and felt a little warm where she touched me, which was a really nice feeling, and one I'd barely ever had before. "I guess I know. But you know how stubborn he is."

I nodded.

"So… where does that leave us?" she asked.

"Hell if I know," I answered.

Which was where things stood when there was another knock on my door.


	2. Part II

_Not Exactly Normal to Begin With_  
**Pairing/Character:** Will/Warren/Layla (Warren POV)  
**Rating:** PG  
**Summary:** "I was home alone with the girl I had a crush on, who I could never date because she's the ex-girlfriend of my best friend, who I also have a crush on. Man, high school sucks."

**Part II**

Layla and I pulled away quickly. I stood up. "I should…"

"Yeah," she agreed quickly.

I genuinely had no idea who was going to be on the other side of the door, so I think the fact that I gaped openly at Will was obvious. And I found myself noticing again that he had great, puppy-dog brown eyes, and possibly the best smile I've ever seen. God. I was waxing poetic about my best friend, not even five minutes after making out with his ex-girlfriend. I think it's safe to say, it was the _weirdest _day I've ever had.

"Hi," Will said, when I didn't say anything.

I continued to not speak, but I moved so he could walk in and then I shut the door behind him, and noticed he was carrying a paper bag. He handed it to me. "Cookies. Mom saw your mom was off saving the world, so she sent me over with them. I told her you were sick, she said you shouldn't be alone."

"Oh," I said, and followed Will into the living room, where his reaction to Layla was about the same as mine had been to him.

"I believe the word you're looking for is 'hello,' Will," she finally said.

"I didn't expect to see you here," he answered. "What are you—"

"Same as you." She pointed to the Chinese food.

"You know, I'd just like to be clear that I didn't invite either one of you," I added, hoping that some of my usual bitterness might make the whole thing less awkward.

"Yeah, but you know our folks," Will answered. "They know you're alone here half the time anyway, and when your mom is out doing her thing, they want to make sure you're okay… so…"

Will awkwardly sat on the couch where I'd been before, next to but not touching—barely—Layla. I sat down on an armchair, opened my bag of cookies, and began to munch. Layla and Will both stared at me.

"You have your dinner," I pointed out to Layla. "And you had cookies at home," to Will. "So shut up."

"Neither one of us said anything," Layla pointed out.

"Whatever," I answered, my mouth full of cookie.

"So…" Will glanced around the room, kind of awkwardly. "Were you sick today?"

"Yeah," I said.

Layla rolled her eyes.

"It's not like I can fake it. Mom would know."

Will laughed. "Yeah, and if you are sick, she can just make it better before breakfast."

Layla cleared her throat. "But sometimes you just need a day off, right? So I guess it's _convenient _that your mom is busy."

"I was sick," I said again.

"Geeze, Layla, give him a break, he's sick," Will added.

"Yeah, I'm the one who came over to check on him with_out _my parents telling me to."

"And there you go, doing that thing again." Will rolled his eyes.

"What thing, exactly, am I doing, _William_?" she demanded icily. Will didn't seem to notice her tone of voice, though I'm not quite sure how it was possible to miss it.

"You're being all self-righteous! Everything I do, you have to do _better,_even when it's just checking on my best friend!" Will yelled.

"He's my best friend, too!"

They glared at each other, then kind of stared at me. Yeah, like I was going to get in the middle of that.

"Look, not that this hasn't been just _super_ fun and all, but if you two are going to fight, can you do it somewhere that isn't my living room? It's getting kind of old."

"Old?" Layla demanded (and it only occurred to me later that this time, _I _had totally missed the Layla-is-really-pissed tone of voice). "What's that supposed to mean?"

I started to answer, then stopped, a brilliant idea occurring to me. Layla, even if she did kind of like me, was in love with Will. Will, who would never like me, was still in love with Layla. And if they got back together, I wouldn't have to worry about how much I liked either one of them anymore. Sure, the feelings might have still been there, but with them both firmly off limits again, just the same as they were back when everything was normal and pretty happy, well, I couldn't think of a single reason it couldn't be normal and happy again.

So I did something very stupid.

"You two fighting is old," I said. "You two being broken up for stupid reasons is old. And you two being too stubborn to admit it is _old_. Layla, you told me—you _told _me—that you still love Will."

"Warren—" she started.

"No, seriously. And Will, don't pretend you don't still love her. It's pretty obvious."

"Warren, what are you talking about?" he demanded.

"What I'm talking about is you two being too stupid to get back together when everyone thinks you should. Do you still care about her?"

"I—"

"Yes or no question," I interrupted.

Will stared at me, then looked at Layla, who'd gone silent and a little pale. And he nodded.

"And Layla said—"

"I said that in private!" she yelled. "I _trusted _you!"

I rolled my eyes. "And I'm helping you out."

"You are not! I don't know why you think you have the right to just—If I told Will _half _of what you told me—I can't believe you, Warren!" She stood up angrily.

"Wait, you mean he was right?" Will asked, standing up too. "You still like me?"

Layla looked kind of horrified.

"Layla?"

She nodded, and she was lucky enough to get a smile from Will. A huge, beaming smile, like Layla's feelings for him was the best news he'd ever heard. Lucky Layla.

But then, she liked Will. Lucky Will.

"But Will, all the reasons we broke up are still—"

"I don't care," he said.

"I care, you act like such a—you—" She broke off, and took a deep breath. "I can't believe you'd do this to me, Warren," she said. "I thought you were my _friend_! I thought you said you cared about me!"

"Wait, Layla—" I managed to start, but it was too late. Layla was running out of the room, and a moment later my door slammed shut.

"Layla!" Will called after her, and started to follow, then stopped and turned to me. "What did she mean, half of what you told her? What were you two…" He looked at the doorway Layla had run through, then back at me, and he looked both confused and torn.

"Don't worry about it, just go after her."

"But—"

"If you don't go after her," I said, starting to get angry, "you're going to lose her. For good."

"What?"

My plan hadn't worked, and the only way to save it was to get Will to go after Layla. And considering everything I was feeling for Will, I really didn't want to hang around with him, alone, at my house. So I told myself, without taking the time to think it through, that what I really, really wanted was to get Will going after Layla, and make sure they got back together, so that I wouldn't have to deal with them anymore.

"Because _I_ like her, Stronghold!" I yelled. "And she likes me, and we were making out before you got here, and if you don't go after her now,_ I will_."

Will's face fell. And he turned and stalked out of my house, slamming the door even harder than Layla had, without saying another word.

At which point I realized that there was a serious flaw in my plan. Sure, Will and Layla get together, and they go back to being happy, and everything is normal. But my genius plan left Layla very mad at me for betraying her trust, and Will very mad at me for betraying his friendship.

And so it was my turn to stand and stare at the door, through which the two people I loved most in the world had disappeared. And as I stared, I got the sinking feeling that instead of fixing things, I'd screwed them up even worse.

It was a little after nine that night when my mom, having successfully saved the diplomat, found the poisoners, and brought them to justice, arrived home. She found me lying on the couch, staring up at the ceiling.

"Hey, honey, are you feeling any better? I brought pizza back from New York with me. Did you finish your homework?"

I didn't say anything, and she finally actually looked at me.

"So you're not feeling better, I take it?" she asked, sitting down next to me. "Which seems funny, since I was pretty sure you were faking it this morning."

"It's not fair that you can always tell," I mumbled.

"It's a gift." She smiled over at me. "And I can tell that you aren't sick, but you feel rotten."

"That's not one of your powers."

"You're right. It's more of a mom thing."

I rolled my eyes. Don't get me wrong, I love my mom and all. She's always been here for me, and raised me pretty much alone; my dad walked out when I was a toddler, and then he tried to take over the world, but everyone knows that story. And I know Mom was always worried about me not having a father figure, blah blah blah, whatever.

"So, do you want to talk about it?"

"No."

"Up to you, I guess," she answered, and put a hand on my forehead.

"Mom, don't—"

"I'm only taking your temperature," she said innocently.

Which was a lie. And I knew it was a lie, because I suddenly was feeling very calm and peaceful.

That's how Mom's powers work. Well, part of them. She can make people calm, and feel at peace, which is why they call her Dove. She can also do physical healing, like slowing the diplomat's biological processes until she could concoct a cure. And so she touched me and I felt oddly calm, and I knew that was her powers at work.

"So what's going on?" she asked.

"Well, for one thing, I resent you using your powers to try and make me talk about this," I answered, only so calm and rational about it because her powers were at work. She'd done this to me before, and it's always angered me, but by the time her powers wear off and I'm actually angry, it's usually become a moot point, because the advice she gives me is also generally correct.

"That's a very fair point," she agreed. "And if you'd like, I won't do it again. But you looked very upset, and I thought some peace might help."

I sighed. I did feel better, but I knew that my problems were still there, outside the peaceful haze of my mother's power.

"Will and Layla are both mad at me," I told her.

"Yeah?"

"I screwed up pretty bad."

"You want to tell me about it, honey?"

"Don't call me honey. And no. I…" I shrugged, still feeling hazy from the shot of Mom's power. "I don't know. It would be weird to tell you about any of it."

Which was the truth. Telling Mom about my crush on Layla would be a little odd, but she'd probably already guessed it. She's very perceptive, and I don't know if that's a super power thing, or a Mom thing. But telling her about my crush on Will? Telling her that her son, the tough kid who has a reserved seat in the principal's office, had a crush on a _boy_? I really didn't know how that would fly.

"Well, if that's what you want, that's fine," she said. "But remember that no matter what it is, and no matter what you do, I'm your mother and I'll always love you." She leaned over and kissed my forehead.

See what I mean about her being perceptive?

I sighed.

"And maybe, if you tell me what's wrong, I can help you figure out how to fix it."

I rolled my eyes.

"And maybe talking about it might help you feel better," she added.

"You're really not going to give up until I tell you, are you?" I asked.

"Honey, I've talked jumpers off of ledges and bombers away from the button. And none of that was as hard as high school."

"Promise you won't flip?" I asked, realizing that her power was _still _affecting me. Because otherwise, I'd never have done the big emotional talk thing. But she promised that she wouldn't get upset, and so I told her. I spilled everything, starting with my revelation about having a crush on Will, and ending with Will storming out.

The shot of peace power must have been wearing off by the time I finished, because she hugged me and I squirmed away. Much like discussing emotions, I'd _have _to be blissed out to hug.

"Warren, honey—"

"I've told you a million times, I hate it when you call me that!" Yeah, the peace was gone and the overwhelming misery was back.

"Warren. The first thing you need to know is that this sort of thing is… Well. I've been all over the world, I've healed all kinds of people. I know a thing or two about humanity. And I know that there's no such thing as normal. Not when it comes to the ways people relate to each other. And if part of how you relate to Will is sexual, well, that's something you're going to have to come to terms with, and your friends are going to have to accept." She patted my knee knowingly. "But they're your friends, honey, and they _will _accept it."

"Don't call me honey!"

"But you're so sweet." She smiled at me and I rolled my eyes.

"Is being corny another one of those mom things?"

"So what are you going to do, Warren?" she asked.

I shrugged. "I dunno. Stay home sick for the rest of the year."

"It's only October," she pointed out. "And no, you can't transfer to another school."

"Well, then I guess I'll just go back to having no friends. I did it for fifteen years, it wasn't so bad."

"Will and Layla care about you. All you need to do is talk to them and be honest."

"Yeah. Right."

"I'm serious, Warren. That's the only way to handle these situations. If you care about Will and Layla, you owe them honesty. And I'll bet that if you're honest with them, they'll be honest with you. And everything will be fine."

"Easy for you to say," I grumbled.

"Trust me, honey."

"_Mom._"

She smiled. Sometimes, I think she only calls me that because she knows it'll get to me.

"Why don't you head over to your friends' houses now? You'll feel better, I promise."

"What if they hate me?"

"They won't hate you."

"What if they do?"

"They won't. Warren, friends fight all the time. If you talk to them and explain to them, I'm sure they'll understand. Will and Layla both care about you too much to stay mad at you."

I grumbled a little bit, but stopped arguing. It can be very annoying to have a mother who's a super hero, an unlicensed therapist, and an optimist all in one. She beamed at me as I grabbed my jacket and stomped out of the house, pausing only to pick up Layla's forgotten dinner.

The trek to Layla's house was almost half an hour, but walking was my only option, since I failed driver's ed (something about road rage and being too aggressive), and I feel ridiculous on my old bike. I mean, leather coat, pyrokenetic… _bike rider_? It doesn't really fit the image. (And needless to say, my mom forbade me from getting a motorcycle. Now _that _would fit my image.) So I walked (stomped, really) up to Layla's door.

Layla's house is certainly interesting. It's half zoo and half greenhouse, I swear. Her father is a vet and her mother helps him out (she doesn't have a license or anything, but she can communicate with animals, which is probably more useful), and they have all sorts of cats and dogs and assorted animals wandering around at any time. I don't think they really own any of them; Layla's mom just sort of collects strays, and her dad would never turn a homeless animal away. And then, of course, there are the plants; every spare corner and nook and cranny of Layla's house has something growing. Overall, the effect makes the place feel kind of like a jungle.

Layla's father answered the door when I knocked, and raised an eyebrow.

"Is Layla home?" I asked, and it occurred to me that she might not be. She might be over at Will's, making up with him. Or maybe he'd be here. And even though I had to deal with both of them, I wasn't sure I could really handle them both at once. I just wasn't feeling up to it.

"I don't think Layla really wants to see anyone," her dad answered.

I took a deep breath. "It's really important," I said. "I kind of upset her earlier. I wanted to apologize." Which was true. I really wanted to apologize and make things right. Not that I was optimistic about my chances; if I were Layla, I wouldn't be feeling too forgiving. "And I brought her dinner," I added, holding up the take-out carton for him to see.

He frowned, staring at me, and I shifted awkwardly under his gaze. Layla's mom appeared behind him in the foyer. "Warren?" she asked, looking surprised.

"Hi," I answered.

Layla's dad glanced back at Layla's mom, who shrugged and nodded a little bit. So he stepped out of my way. "Layla's up in her room. Don't be too long, this is a school night and I'm sure she has homework."

I nodded and hurried past them, wondering if my mom had used some sort of superhero-to-superhero connection to warn Layla's mom that I'd be on my way over. They used to be on a superhero team together, the Justice Ladies. It was them and Will's mom, but she left when she got married, and the group broke up. Still, though, the three of them get together and gossip a lot, now that Will and Layla and I are all friends. And they can get very annoying, trust me.

I headed up to Layla's room, only tripping over a few cats on my way, and knocked on the door to her room.

"Go away!" she yelled.

So much for a warm welcome. "Layla? It's me. I—"

"I don't want to talk to you."

Never one to let other people's opinions stop me, I opened her door anyway, as far as I could. Which wasn't very far. I could see something big and green through the crack, so presumably she'd propped it shut with a very large plant.

"Layla, come on," I snapped. "Don't make me burn the door down."

"Don't you _dare_!"

Well, obviously I wouldn't really do it. Ever since the whole Royal Pain incident last year, even I don't want to take on Layla, really. And I can only imagine how pissed she'd be if I set her plants on fire.

"Then let me in!" I yelled back, throwing my weight against the door. It didn't budge. It's times like these I wish I had Will's power; plant or no plant, he'd have gotten in.

This clearly wasn't working, so I changed tactics. "I brought your dinner over," I said. "I just wanted to apologize."

There was a long silence from in her room, then, "Apologize for what?"

"Uh…" It figured that Layla would want specifics. "To apologize for being a jerk, and for telling Will that stuff, and for, uh… being a jerk."

There was another pause, and then some of the green behind the door disappeared, and it cracked open a little further. "You said being a jerk twice," she pointed out.

"I was a pretty big jerk," I answered, pretty sure that this was her relenting and she'd let me in.

"You were," she agreed, and finally the door opened.

I pulled out the carton of Chinese, heated it, and handed it to her.

"I had a long talk with my mom," I explained.

"She's home okay?"

"Yeah, she's fine. Anyway, uh, she gave me this speech about emotions and honesty and crap like that."

"It's not _crap,_Warren," Layla said, sounding a bit prim.

"Whatever. Anyway, she said… uh… that I should apologize. So I am. Sorry, I mean."

"Good."

"But I just… I meant it, Layla. I really like you, and I really like Will, but you and Will together would be so much better than me and you or me and him, and I really think you should—"

"Oh, so that's what you think," she said, and rolled her eyes. "Did you ever maybe wonder what _I _think?"

"Uh…"

"I think that you're being stupid. I know you care about Will and so do I, but, being happy together… I mean, Will and I _weren't _happy together, not for awhile before we broke up. It made sense to break up. And all the problems would still be there, even if we…"

"Yeah," I agreed. "But if you like him that much, isn't it worth working on?"

She shrugged. "If you like me so much, isn't _that _worth working on?"

"I don't know how to work on it so it won't hurt Will," I answered.

"Since when are you nice, anyway, Warren?" she sighed. "Concerned about other people's feelings?"

"I dunno," I answered. "I guess it started when I had friends who were actually worth being concerned about."

She sighed. "What really pissed me off was that now I'm going to have to hurt Will all over again, if he asks me out again."

"Which he probably will," I mumbled. "Oops."

"Oops?"

"Well, I kinda thought that you two should get back together so I kinda thought I should, uh, encourage Will to go after you."

"Why?" she groaned.

"I thought it would make you two happy."

She rolled her eyes, but did it kind of fondly. And after all, that was the truth. I wanted the two of them to be happy together… Sure, so that I wouldn't have to deal with a couple problems of my own anymore, but it _did_mean wanting them to be happy.

"So what did you tell him?" she finally asked.

"Um… I guess I kind of implied that if he didn't ask you out again, I would, and you might actually say yes."

She gave me a look that was almost amused. "Would you have?" she asked.

"I couldn't do that to Will," I answered. "But I'd have wanted to."

And then she smiled at me, just a little bit, and stood on her tiptoes to kiss my cheek. "That was a good answer," she said. "So now what?"

I shrugged. "I guess I should take your advice and go tell Will what's going on," I answered. Layla nodded, still smiling a little. She always likes it when people take her advice.

"Good luck," she said.

"Thanks," I mumbled. Because I figured I'd need it. My mom's assurances aside, I really had no idea what Will was going to say when I told him.

* * *

Next time: Will's reaction. :D


	3. Part III

_Not Exactly Normal to Begin With_  
**Pairing/Character:** Will/Warren/Layla (Warren POV)  
**Rating:** PG  
**Summary:** "I was home alone with the girl I had a crush on, who I could never date because she's the ex-girlfriend of my best friend, who I also have a crush on. Man, high school sucks."

**Part III**

My mom's gossip network had been at work at the Stronghold house, too, I think, because Mrs. Stronghold let me in without question. "Will's downstairs, working out," she said.

I nodded and headed to the downstairs rec room to find him. They had to have him work downstairs; when your workout means lifting somewhere around a thousand pounds for a light rep, you can't really leave your weights upstairs. They tend to crash through the floor.

The rec room had a cement floor and warm wooden walls; there was a couch, a TV and shelves of DVDs, and in the back was the weight set and my best friend, who was wearing an undershirt and sweating. I swallowed hard, wishing that just the sight of Will didn't affect me so much.

"Hey," I said.

He didn't answer at first, but he put his weights up and sat up. "Hey," he said.

I froze, and had no idea what to say to him at all.

He finally broke the silence, asking, "So are you and Layla dating now?"

"No," I said. "I, uh… I wouldn't. I mean, I did kiss her, but I shouldn't have… Uh…"

Will shrugged. "Well, I mean, if you like her and she likes you…"

"Yeah, but it's not like that. I mean, it is. I do like her. But you're my best friend and she's your ex-girlfriend, so I wouldn't… I didn't mean what I said earlier, about me asking her out. I wouldn't do that."

"But you do like her."

I shrugged. "I can't help that."

"Well, look," Will said, looking kind of torn, "I mean, if you two really like each other, and the only thing stopping you is me, than you might as well just go out, because you're both my friends, and I'd have to be some kind of jerk to tell you not to."

"Yeah, but I'd be some kind of jerk if I did it," I answered.

"Nah," Will said. "I mean, I want… I want my friends… to be happy. So you should just do what makes you happy."

"It's not that easy," I said.

"You're telling me," he mumbled.

"No, I mean… Um… You wanna sit down?"

"Uh, okay," Will said, and kind of gestured to the couch. We sat down, not too near each other; I didn't want to get too close to him when I was telling him I liked him, in case it got too overwhelming, or, you know, he freaked out and hit me. I'm not saying I couldn't hold my own against Will Stronghold, because I could probably kick his ass, but if he got in a good punch before I was ready he could probably dent me.

"So…" I said.

"Um…"

"I am sorry about before," I said, since that seemed to have worked with Layla. "I mean, I just wanted you and Layla to get back together, and I never would really have asked her out or anything, I just thought it might… egg you on or something."

Will groaned and leaned back against the couch, then reached up to wipe some sweat off his forehead and his hair out of his eyes. My heart may have fluttered, though I'd never admit to that aloud.

"Well, it almost worked," Will said finally. "I mean, I went after her. But she decided she's not speaking to me."

"Sorry about that, too."

"Don't be. If she hates me that much, that's probably for the best."

"She doesn't hate you," I said.

"She—"

"Seriously, she cares about you a lot. She's mad at me for telling you, but she does."

"Then why did she freak out when I started to ask her out again?"

"Because she's crazy," I said. "I don't know, she feels like you're too stubborn, and you think she's self-righteous, and you're both right, but you're also perfect for each other, and if you _worked _at it—"

"Why's it so important to you, anyway?" Will asked, half-bitterly.

"I dunno, 'cause you're my friend," I answered. "And I want you to… be…"

_I want you to be my happy. I want you to be my boyfriend so I can make you happy. I guess I have to tell you that. _

Those thoughts kind of filled me with dread. But I did have to tell him.

"You want me to be what?" Will asked, sounding as frustrated as I felt.

So I took a deep breath. "If I tell you something, will you promise not to freak out?"

"Of course, buddy."

"Don't call me that," I said, which was my instant reaction after years of being honey-d by my mother. Not that Will would ever have called me honey, but buddy was close enough. Funny; even with a crush on him, I had no interest in cute nicknames.

"So what's up?" he asked.

"Uh… well, you know that stuff that Lash and Speed were saying yesterday? About you and me…"

"Look, Warren, they were just—"

"I know, they just… hit a nerve," I said, not letting Will make his point. Of course they were just being annoying; they didn't know any more than I had about how I felt. But I'd started with the honesty thing, and kind of wanted to see it through. At least if Will hated me, I'd know where we stood. It had to beat never being able to go to school again.

Well, maybe not really.

"So? You're not gay, I get it." Will didn't look at me, just stared up at the ceiling.

"Not… quite," I said hesitantly. "Uh, the thing is, I kind of do… uh, have feelings. You know, for you. Like that. And I know that's really weird, but I—"

"You _what_?" Will asked, sitting up straight and staring at me.

"Look, I _know_, okay? You don't have to tell me how screwed up it is. And it's not like I'd ever—I mean, you're my best friend! I just, you know… Mom and Layla both said I should tell you, and Mom said it's kind of normal, but I think she was just trying to make me feel better."

"She said that?" Will asked. "What did she say?"

"I don't know. Something about people… You know, humans from all over the world, everyone is different, it's okay to have a crush on your best friend, be honest about your feelings, that crap. You've met my mom, you know what she's like."

"She said that?" Will asked again. "About it being… okay?"

"Yeah, I told her you probably would disagree, but—"

"Oh, thank god." Will collapsed back again. "I thought I was going crazy."

I blinked. "What?"

"I mean, your mom is really smart, she knows all about… people, right?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"Right, so if she says it's okay to, uh, kind of feel something for your best friend… then it would be fine with me. I mean, if you liked me. Which I guess you said you did, unless I misunderstood, in which case I am so sorry to have—"

"Will, are you okay?" I asked.

"It's just, uh, I've kind of… Kind of liked you, too. I mean, for awhile. Like, um, since the summer."

"But you were with Layla then," I said, missing the obvious point.

"Yeah, that's kind of why… I mean, part of why we broke up. We had all these other problems, and then on top of that I'm thinking about you all the time and, I mean, I didn't think I was _gay _but… I mean, I guess I could be bi. I don't know. I just…"

He finally stopped talking and stared at me. And I was staring back. Because here I was, freaking out over how much I liked Will, and there he was, liking me, too. I guess maybe Mom was right and there was something to that emotional honesty crap. Not that I'd ever admit _that _aloud, either.

"Oh," I finally said. "That's… I didn't expect that."

"Me, neither," he said. "I'm just glad you don't hate me."

I kind of sort of inched closer to Will on the couch. "I couldn't hate you," I told him. "You're my best friend."

"You're mine," he said, then kind of shyly, "I ended up dating my last best friend."

The thought of Layla almost stopped me, but Will kind of inched closer to me as well, and our thighs were touching, just a little. So I reached over and put a hand on his shoulder. Lightly.

He stared at it, then at me, and then he kissed me. Just a little.

And it wasn't even that weird. A little weird, sure, but I guess that's to be expected. But mostly it was just me and Will, and it felt like something that had been coming for a long time.

"Was that okay?" he mumbled, after he finally pulled away.

I nodded, not sure what to say.

And he smiled. "I don't know what to do," he confessed, after a long, but not too uncomfortable, silence. "I mean, about us, and about Layla… I really do love her, Warren."

"I know," I said, leaning in a little bit so Will was kind of right against me, his head almost resting on my shoulder. It felt nice.

"I want to be with her," he added. "But I want to be with _you_." He turned scarlet after he said it, but didn't take it back.

"I know," I said again. "Same here."

"And I don't want to hurt her," he said.

"Me, neither."

"So what are we going to do?"

I shrugged. "I don't know," I said, but it didn't feel that important at the moment, because I was pretty content to sit with Will's head on my shoulder, and not worry.

Things didn't get worked out until school the next day. I hadn't left Will's house until late the previous night, when his mom implied that my mom wanted me to get to bed before midnight. Mr. Stronghold gave me a ride home, and was polite enough not to ask why Will and I had been holding hands when we walked up into the kitchen.

Things at school were less weird than I expected, luckily. Will and Layla and I were able to hang out, and those two were still being weird around each other, but neither one seemed to want to fight. Layla and I flirted a little, and Will froze at first, but then sort of joined in. So Layla flirted with him, a little awkwardly, considering that she'd said she didn't want to get back together with him. And he and I… Well, we didn't hold hands in school, but we were a lot more comfortable hanging out with each other, and I think Layla got the message that everything was okay.

We all went out to the lawn to have lunch together, since it was one of the last days it was going to be warm enough to eat outside. Will was absently playing with Layla's hair, and I was lying on my side, staring over at them.

"You two really should get back together," I mused. I no longer had the obsessive need to get them back together to try and fix my own life; but then again, I no longer really felt like my life needed to be fixed. I was perfectly happy just hanging out with my best friends, knowing that they felt about me like I did about them, even if nothing came of it. It felt nice to be liked. But Will and Layla really _did_seem to make sense together. Maybe they didn't even realize it, but they complimented each other in a million different ways.

I sighed, kind of wistfully. They did belong together; and no matter what they felt for me, that was clear.

Will glanced over at Layla, who shrugged. "We would," he said. They'd apparently discussed it earlier. "But… where would that leave you?"

I rolled over on to my back. "Over here, like I am now," I said.

"Warren," Layla said, in her _What are we going to do with you?_voice. I think she picked that up from my mom. "We care about you. We don't want you to be left out."

"But you two should—"

"Why can't we all just…?" Will mumbled.

"Just what?" I asked.

He shrugged, and I sat up to look at him. "I don't know," he said. "Just, we all agree that we like each other, and no one wants to be the odd man out."

"Or woman," Layla said.

"So what do you mean?" I asked. "Like… we all get together?"

Layla smiled. "Why not?"

"Because that's _definitely _not normal," I said.

"Warren, we go to a school in the _sky_, where we're learning to use our _super powers_," Layla reminded me. "We weren't exactly normal to begin with."

"Well, yeah, but… I don't know. Can three people date?"

"I don't see why not," she answered. "I mean, if we all wanted to…"

Will looked over at me, smiling a little. "What do you think, Warren?"

I looked up into the sky for a minute. I had never thought about this. I mean, yes, I liked Will; and yes, I liked Layla. And I did want to be with them—either one. And I did want them to get together again, even though I'd have been a little irritated by being left out. But I never had thought about the _three _of us together. That had just never occurred to me.

I wondered what my mom would think, and remembered what she'd told me. That there was no such thing as normal, when it comes to relationships.

So I shrugged. "I dunno. It would be weird, but…"

Will nodded, like he was reading my mind. "But worth it," he finished for me.

"Come here, you," Layla said, and held open her arms.

I stared at her in annoyance. "I'm still _me,_" I reminded her. "I don't hug. At least, not in public."

She laughed, and Will kicked my leg and grinned at me.

"After school," he said.

I nodded. "After school."

We looked over at Layla, who just smiled like she knew something we didn't. Or maybe like she'd known something all along.

I only had two hours free after school, before work. We spent them in my bedroom, just hanging out; sometimes kissing, sometimes talking, sometimes just sitting together. Will discovered that he liked sitting his head on my shoulder, and my arm around him, like we had the day before; Layla made herself comfortable lying with her head on my lap and her knees hooked over Will's legs, so she could look up at us.

And it was comfortable. And for the first time that I could remember, I was really content. I wasn't a loner, I wasn't left out, and I wasn't even nervous. It was just me and the two people I cared about most in the world.

"I have to go to work," I eventually groaned, not moving. I didn't want to disturb Will and Layla, after all.

"You want us to walk you?" Layla asked.

"Sure." I shrugged a little bit, and Will groaned and sat up. "You guys can have dinner on me if you want."

"That would be nice," Layla said, and Will nodded. He really only ever eats Chinese for her, which I guess is pretty sweet.

They ended up spending my entire shift sitting in a booth near the kitchen. When I wasn't busy, I sat with them; even when I was, I'd wave as I walked by and brought them tea and noodles to munch on so it looked like they were still eating instead of just taking up a booth.

I sat down to scarf down my own dinner when I was finally off, and handed out fortune cookies as we walked out. Will cracked his and read it aloud: "The will of the warrior resides within you."

"Sounds about right," Layla agreed, and read her own. "You are passionate and wise beyond your years."

Will smiled a little and threw an arm around her. "You rigged these, right, Warren?"

"Nope," I answered, and opened my own. They looked at me expectantly, and I read it to myself.

_You surround yourself with those you love._

I looked at Will and I looked at Layla, and tucked the fortune into my pocket.


End file.
